Carroll baseball strikes again in late innings

Tigers rally for victory over Smithson Valley

TODD YATES/CALLER-TIMES
Carroll pitcher Lorenzo Lira (right) takes a hit from Smithson Valley runner Austin Pierce during a squeeze play at home on Thursday at Cabaniss Field. Lira was able to hold onto the ball for the out.$RETURN$$RETURN$

Corpus Christi Caller-Times

CORPUS CHRISTI - Much of the star power that made up Carroll’s baseball team the past three years is gone, but the Tigers seem to have more of a flair for the dramatic this season.

The stage has been all Carroll’s in the final innings so far this year. The Tigers struck late again Thursday afternoon, scoring four times in the bottom of the sixth inning to rally and down Smithson Valley 7-4 in a final pre-district tuneup at Cabaniss Field.

Almost the entire starting lineup is missing from three consecutive runs to the Class 5A state tournament. Yet Carroll (14-4) is ranked 10th in the state and finding ways to win games despite being without Courtney Hawkins, O’Shea Dumes, Trey Rodriguez and a host of other 2012 seniors.

The Smithson Valley game marked the eighth time the Tigers have won this season after trailing. Four of those came in the team’s final at-bat, whether the inning was the sixth — as was the case Thursday — the seventh or even the 10th.

“We’ve been doing this all year, it seems,” Carroll coach Lee Yeager said. “We kind of play with teams and then late in the game we’re fortunate enough to get some hits and score some runs.”

First baseman Brandon Burns, who went 2 for 3 with a pair of RBIs, including one in the four-run sixth, said the Tigers don’t have the power of the past few years but are patient and willing to scratch out hits.

That was apparent in the sixth, with Carroll trailing 4-3. Ryan Benavidez singled to lead off the inning, was sacrificed to second and went to third on a wild pitch. With two outs, Zach Alaniz laced a triple that strafed the right-field line to tie the game.

The triple was the late jolt the Tigers often get. The next four hitters all reached base, with Michael Berglund’s single driving in Alaniz with the go-ahead run, Andrew Heitkamp drawing a walk after doubling twice earlier in the game, and Burns and Cory Gallegos delivering back-to-back RBI singles.

Just like that, a deficit became a three-run cushion.

“The bottom line is we got some pitches deep in the count and drove them in,” Yeager said. “Guys stayed in there and battled, and that made the difference for us.”

That patience helped. Rangers coach Chad Koehl noted the inconsistencies in the strike zone, though he did not believe that was the reason the Tigers won the game.

Koehl added that both teams faced the same shifting strike zone, with Carroll issuing six walks and Smithson Valley (7-9) giving up five.

“We just got behind in the count some. They came up with the hits, we didn’t,” Koehl said. “We had chances early in the game — bases loaded (three times) — only got one the one time and one (another).

“It was very inconsistent behind the plate, and that was frustrating. I think the umpire missed a few calls — not only with us, but them, too. It forces your pitchers to put the ball over the plate. It’s not the reason they beat us, but we ended up having to put balls over the plate.”

Yeager said his team finally made Rangers pitchers work deep into the count in the late innings.

One difference was the relief pitching. Koehl’s bullpen struggled with the strike zone, while the Tigers had a nice effort from Jon Mike Rodriguez (3-1). After Smithson Valley scored in three of the first four innings, Rodriguez shut the Rangers out over the final three innings and escaped a bases-loaded situation in the sixth unscathed, which kept Carroll close for the final blow in the bottom of the inning.

“We worked ourselves into some deep counts. Jon Mike Rodriguez came in and kept them down,” Yeager said. “Jon Mike did a good job of attacking the strike zone.”